


He Found Her

by lordness_monstaaa



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M, Love, they cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22081561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordness_monstaaa/pseuds/lordness_monstaaa
Summary: " “Well.. yeah.” Mercy gave a big grin. “We’re friends now! It’s the rules!”Vorel hesitated for a long moment, his hand going to touch the necklace around his neck.A tiny smile tugged at his lips.“I’d really like that.” "---A young tiefling was caught peering in as a druid trained away. Yet, a curious peek turned into a beautiful friendship, the two spending every day together for years.Yet, when he finds her crying, he realizes something is far too wrong.And then she's gone.
Relationships: Mercy/Vorel
Kudos: 3





	He Found Her

Wind rustled through the forest, trees bending ever so slightly from the air rushing against them. Hidden down amongst the towering greenery, a small druid could be seen, sweat coating his brow. His chest was heaving, and there were some stray clumps of fur on the ground from failed attempts of shifting between animals. His eyes looking up expectantly to the older man sat on a rock nearby. When he got no immediate response, he spoke softly. 

“Sir? How was that?” 

Their training sessions had been going on for quite a long time now, months upon months of grueling work. Today, the boy had come so very close to a perfect transformation. His wolf form had been so sturdy, so strong, before his muscles gave and he turned back. There would be two possible outcomes from his mentor. Either pride or disappointment. 

After a few long moments of silence, the man gave a slow nod. 

“The spirit is meant to grow strong by failure. Take pride in your progress, child. Now, homeward with you. Your father seeks, lest not keep him waiting.”

The boy utterly lit up with the praise. He let a wide grin slide onto his face, before attempting to replace it with something more professional in the presence of his teacher. 

“Thank you, sir!” 

With that, he ran off in the direction of his house, wings fluttering happily behind him the entire way home. 

The clearing was silent for another stretch of time, until the elder spoke once more. 

“You can come out now, young one. We both know you’re there, and he’s gone home now.” 

A tiny breath of fear came from a nearby tree, followed by a muffled smack and more silence. The man spoke once more. 

“Don’t think wrong, girl. Silence is full of answers. Answer or not, the truth of you remains. Now, come out, please.” 

Hesitance seemed to hang in the air, before finally, there was a rustling once more. From behind the tree, a face slowly peeked out. The tiefling girl looked to be quite young, no older than around 13. She had soft pink skin and dark pink hair, as well as green, curious eyes. She wore a dark blue cloak, black pants, as well as black boots. Currently, she had a hand slapped over her mouth, which the old druid smiled at. 

“Now, do you think that’s still necessary?” 

The tiefling gave a small shake of her head

“So, perhaps you could remove your hand?”

She gave a tiny nod, before lifting her hand from her mouth. She gave him a nervous look, before clearing her throat loudly. 

“So! Nice to meet you, but I think I’ll just be on my wa-” 

“Curiosity killed the cat, young one. But satisfaction brought it back. Surely, you’re here for a reason. Now, what is it?”

  
  


The girl looked down to her feet, rocking back and forth for a moment. She gave a little shrug. 

“I just.. I like to watch.. Him.”

“Him?” 

“The.. bird boy. He’s just.. He’s cool. I’ve never seen someone turn into a wolf before! I didn’t mean to peak. I was just.. Walking. N’ I saw him, and I.. couldn’t stop watching.” 

A soft smile played on the elders face. 

“Vorel is quite talented. He’s destined to do amazing things.” 

Together, the two stood there for a moment, both smiling. The man got off the rock, kneeling down to be eye level with the other. 

“But, you see, he’s still quite shy. One important I’ve yet to teach him is how to behave around others. Perhaps.. You could help with that?” 

This seemed to catch the girls attention, a sparkle catching in her eyes. 

“How?” 

“All you’d have to do is watch. Would you like that?” 

A big smile seemed to slip onto her lips, nodding her head wildly. 

“Very well. It’s a pleasure to work with you, Miss..?”

This seemed to cause her to hesitate, the smile faltering. 

“Mercy.” She murmured. “Just Mercy.” 

♡

After that day, a new pattern formed. Each day, Vorel would arrive for training. And each day, from the surrounding trees, there were two additional eyes resting on the boy. Mercy would get excited with him each time he was successful, sad with him each time he became upset, and frustrated with him each time he came so very close but failed. To Vorel, it was only ever his mentor supporting him. But in reality, his own little cheerleader was hidden just out of plain sight. 

Finally, the day came. It had been a day of training like any other. Vorel working, the older man giving pointers, and Mercy watching from the background. 

Vorel was exhausted. His limbs were heavy, and he felt like he could go to sleep right on the forest floor if given the opportunity. Yet, the words of the druid rang out. 

“Once more, child.” 

He gave a deep breath, rubbing at his eyes, before making one more transformation. The wolf that formed was gorgeous. Black with orange patches, piercing eyes, and sharp teeth. And despite the tired muscles, in that moment, Vorel felt so strong. He did not falter, standing strong until he was given the order to turn back. 

That was the day of his first flawless transformation. 

In an instant, Vorel was back in his normal form, eyes lit up brighter than the stars sparkling in the sky. 

“Sir! I did it!” 

The next chain of events occurred within the span of a few seconds, so immensely fast and yet seemingly instant by instant dragging by. One moment, Vorel was celebrating his victory, and the next, a girl the colour of raspberries had her arms wrapped around him in immense joy. 

“Good job!” She squealed. “Vorel, you did it!! I’m so happy for you!” 

Vorel immediately tensed, a million different thoughts coursing through his mind. This random tiefling was hugging him. Congratulating him. Calling him by his name? And yeah, it was a pretty big deal, but he didn’t believe a complete stranger shared the same joy he did in his success. So, in his confusion, he squeaked out

“Who are you?-”

The girl couldn’t help but breathe a little giggle, stepping back so she could give an overly dramatic curtsey. 

“Your biggest fan, at your service!”

At the sound of a muffled chuckle to the side of him, the young druids eyes darted to the grinning face of his mentor still sat on his rock. He gave the boy an amused look, before motioning to the two of them. 

“You heard her. Your biggest fan stands before you, will you deny her the joy of celebration?” 

Vorel attempted to give a flustered flail of his arms, doing the best he could with an arm full of tiefling. 

“But  _ why _ do I have a.. A fan? I don’t even know her!” 

“Perhaps. But she definitely knows you. Young one, care to explain?”

Mercy made a tiny noise in the back of her throat, taking a deep breath before nodding and stepping back. She nervously smoothed the material of her cloak. 

“My name is Mercy. I saw you training one day and I just… you looked so  **cool** ! So I asked Mr. Druid Man, and he let me watch if I wanted to. I was s’pposed to hide, cause I didn’t want to distract you.. But I just got so excited today n’ I couldn’t help it..” 

Vorel’s face went a soft shade of red, out of what in the future he would argue was only embarrassment and nothing more. 

“You were watching me because you thought I was cool?” He asked quietly. In response, Mercy gave a tiny shrug. 

“I was. And I’m glad I did. You seem really nice.” 

“I.. you do too, Mercy.”

That was the day Mercy and Vorel met. 

♡

After that, Mercy didn’t hide anymore. It started off slow, peering her head out day after day from the tree. Next came the whole body, leaning and watching. Before they knew it, training didn’t really feel complete unless the girl was sat in the grass nearby, watching intently or maybe giving quiet giggles as an ant crawled across her hands. 

Either way, the three met up every day, always excited to get started. Training partners. 

That was, until there was only two. 

One day, Vorel came running up to the patch of grass, like he did hundreds of times before. Yet, this time, only Mercy sat in the grass. She had been plucking dandelions, popping the flowers off and gently placing them in the grass, before adding the stems to a little chain she was making. His mentor was nowhere to be seen. 

“Where is he?” Vorel asked, voice tiny and filled with immediate worry. Of course, he’d jump to the worst conclusions. 

“He’s okay!” Mercy answered his fear with ease. “He woke up with a sore tummy, so he told me to tell you, take the day off! You can relax!” 

Vorels brow furrowed for a moment. 

“Oh. Okay.” 

He moved to go plop down next to her, watching in silence as the tieflings nimble fingers looped stem after stem together. 

After a few moments of silence, the boy spoke again. 

“So… what are you making?” 

Mercy breathed a laugh, yanking the chain away before he could get another look. 

“It’s a surprise! Close your eyes, peaking is cheating!” 

Vorel huffed a tiny breath of amused annoyance, before squeezing his eyes closed.

“If this is mean, I’ll turn into a wolf and lick your face so you’ll be covered in slobber.” 

“Trust me!!” 

Another little silence fell between the two, Mercy working in concentrated silence. Then, finally, she made a little noise of satisfaction. A moment later, Vorel felt something slip over his neck. 

“You can look!” The girl practically squealed. 

When Vorels eyes opened, he looked down to see a necklace of dandelion stems sat around his neck, linked like a chain together. To finish it off, Mercy had tied the flowers of the dandelions across the necklace, as if they were little faux jewels. 

Vorel could only give her a look of shock. 

“You… made me a necklace? Why..?” 

Now, seeing Mercy every day had become regular in his life. It made him feel a bit warmer each time she would laugh, or make some stupid comment. It was nice to have his ‘biggest fan’ nearby. 

And yet.. For some reason, Vorel couldn’t help but feel as if this necklace was.. Intimate. As if it was this huge gift. Just for him, from this tiny girl who just popped into his life one day. 

But all mercy answered in response was 

“Because.. I wanted to, I guess. I’ve been meaning to make you a friendship bracelet for a long time, and well.. I think a friendship necklace works!” 

“I.. friendship bracelet?” 

“Well.. yeah.” Mercy gave a big grin. “We’re friends now! It’s the rules!” 

Vorel hesitated for a long moment, his hand going to touch the necklace around his neck. 

A tiny smile tugged at his lips. 

“I’d really like that.”

♡

Before they really knew it, Mercy and Vorel started getting really close. They cherished each others company more than either of them really realized. Because when they were together.. Things just felt right. They didn’t need to talk. Or do anything, really. They could just lay and stare up at the clouds, and be perfectly content. 

There were days when Vorel would take Mercy deep into the woods, and show her how to interact with the fauna without scaring them off. Mercy smiled, as her chest felt warm as she watched Vorel pet a deer and snuggle his face to it’s neck. 

And there were days when Mercy would take Vorel to this tiny cove she found, a small pool that was perfect for swimming and flowers absolutely everywhere. She would spend hours showing him the different types of flowers, and how they all lived in harmony and helped each other grow. Vorel could only admire how pretty Mercy was as she tucked a peony into her hair. 

The years Mercy and Vorel spent together were the happiest either had been for a long time. It felt like they were separated from everyone else. They didn’t need anyone, Mercy and Vorel versus the world. 

Things were perfect. 

Until they weren’t. 

♡

The evening everything changed, it was the tail end of summer. Things were starting to cool down a little in the forest, and there was a chill in the air that stuck close to you no matter what. 

Vorel had just finished a rather intense training session. It seemed like each session was getting harder, now that they were in more complex territory. Yet, this particular session was extra hard.. Because Mercy hadn’t been there. 

It bothered Vorel to not have his best friend at his side. It was like if the sun just didn’t rise one day. She hadn’t popped by to tell them where she’d be, or anything. She just wasn’t there. 

As Vorels chest heaved, heavy eyes looked up to his mentor. 

“The suns almost done setting. May I please be excused, sir?” 

His mentor gave him a knowing look, raising an eyebrow. He knew all too well of their friendship right now. Perhaps even more than either of the two of them. 

“The heart needn’t distract from the mind, child. Yet, you have worked well today, so I allow it.” 

Vorel perked right up. He scrambled to gather all of his belongings, quickly scooping up a silver necklace with a single dandelion seed held inside a glass orb that Mercy had made for his most recent birthday (  _ “Get it? It’s all symbolic and stuff?? Also I cut myself on that glass like eight times be thankful!” )  _ and slid it around his neck. 

“Thank’s, sir! I’ll see you soon!” 

He started to head off, before his mentor spoke once more. 

“Vorel.”

The boy quickly turned his head back to the man, to see a gentle expression playing across his features. 

“Love is a trial. If it were easy, it would be as common as leaves on the wind. Yet, love can be painful. Sometimes, you must love someone in spite of everything telling do you otherwise.” 

Vorel only gave him a confused look, before he sighed. With a simple wave of his hand, he waved him off. 

“Go. Find her.” 

And with a nod, Vorel was off. 

He spent so long looking for the girl. It was a big forest, and it was hard to cover all on foot. So, it was only when Vorel flew up to get a good look at the land did he see the girl. 

She was sat by a stream, something in her hands. When Vorel landed next to her, he could immediately see her tense up.

There were three things he noticed. First, the thing she was holding in her hands was a tiny squirrel. It appeared to be injured, trembling slightly. Mercy was petting it with her thumb. Second, a white acacia flower sat by her lap.

Yet the most noticeable thing was her face. 

Vorel was so used to seeing this sweet, bubbly girl. There was almost constantly a smile on her lips, or some silly expression. 

Now, he was only greeted with tears dripping down her cheeks, and one of her eyelids a dark purple and swollen shut. 

She was hurt. 

“You found me.” Was all she murmured. Vorel felt his chest just ache, the words sounding distressed, and yet sadly amused. 

“I probably should’ve gone somewhere with a bit more coverage, so you couldn’t see me from the sky.” 

Vorels eyebrows furrowed, and he could barely formulate anything to say at first. She was injured, and all she worried about was hiding from him?

“Mercy, what happened?! Are you alright?” Was what he said when he finally could get the words out. 

“I.. I didn’t  _ want  _ any of it to happen.” Her voice was thick with emotion. “I kept trying to put it off.. But they cornered me before I could get out of the house.. I told them I didn’t want to, but they.. They hurt him..” 

She gestured down to the little squirrel, holding it up so she could press a kiss to it’s tiny head. 

“I’m so sorry, little guy..”

Vorel reached out, and placed a hand on her shoulder. He tried not to let it sting that she flinched as he raised his hand. 

“Mercy.. You need to tell me what happened.  _ Please. _ ” 

The tiefling gave a tiny shake of her head. 

“I can’t. I don’t want to. Because I know you’ll get mad at them, and you’re not allowed to. They may not be the best.. But it’s all they know.” 

“I.. Mercy..” Vorel ran a hand through his hair. “They hurt you..” 

“I know.” 

“What if they do it again?” 

“They won’t.” 

“How can you say that so sure?” 

“I just can.” 

Vorel sighed. It honestly was difficult not to cry, seeing someone so happy in a place of pain like this. 

“Well.. how about you.. You get trained with me..! Yeah! That way, you can defend yourself if they ever try to hurt you again.” 

Mercy sniffled. She stood slowly, wiping the tears from her cheeks only to be replaced by more. 

“No. Because then I’d be like them. And I will never let that happen. Vorel.. I don’t want to hurt others.. No matter what. Because.. They’re a living being. And even if they hurt you first.. You have no idea what they’re going through.. You have no idea how helpless they are.. I mean…” she held up the squirrel. “Look at at him.. He’s hurt.. Had no way to prevent it.. And now his little leg is broken.. So.. No. I’ll never hurt someone.” 

Vorel placed a gentle hand on the side of her face. 

“You can’t just let it happen.. What if they hurt you so bad.. And.. you know.. It’s too much.. You’re my best friend, Mercy. I love you so much.. I can’t lose you..” 

Mercy had more tears rolling down her cheeks at this point. She stood up on her tippy toes, pressing their foreheads together and looking into his eyes. 

“If you lose me.. Then I’ll find you. Just like in the forest, remember? I found you once.. I can do it again..”   
“Mercy..” 

“You can’t get rid of me. We’re friends.” She hiccuped out a tiny laugh. “It’s in the rules. Remember?” 

And now Vorel was crying. A few tears escaping and rolling down his face. 

“Best friends.” 

“Best friends..” Mercy whispered. She pressed a tiny kiss to his cheek, wrapping her arms around him and mumbling in his ear. 

“Love you.. Forever and always.” 

♡

The next morning, Mercy didn’t show up for training either. 

Or the morning after that. 

Or the next. 

Eventually, it became clear to Vorel that she wasn’t going to be at training again. Not sitting nearby in the grass, making necklaces. Or petting deer with him. Or telling him about the different types of flowers. 

She was gone. Leaving behind only a white acacia, sat by the stream. 

♥️

Mercy was surrounded, down an alleyway in the city she had been living in the past few years. 

Her family had tracked her down. Of course they had. She had disappeared the night after a big fight, never to be seen in the household again. Her dad was going to search for her, probably to punish her for escaping yet again. 

The men she knew from her childhood began to close in on her, and she felt she could just cry. She was trapped. A few years free, before she was being dragged home. She was finally going back. 

Her chest ached at the thought, and she squeezed her eyes closed. Waiting for the hands to grab at her. 

But they never did. 

Because before she knew it, someone was in front of her. Someone with two great, big, beautiful wings. 

And she smiled, a pang of relief residing in her. 

Because she had been wrong. 

He found her. 


End file.
